On Wednesday I watched as a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) chased an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) high in the sky above the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in a vain attempt to steal its freshly caught fish. I captured the second shot when the eagle flew past me after giving up on its chase.
It has been several months since I last photographed a Bald Eagle, so I was thrilled to capture these images. As most of you know, I concentrate most of my photographic attention on dragonflies and other insects during the warmer months. However, I am always alert to the possibility of photographing birds when I manage to spot them.
During the winter months I generally use a 150-600mm telephoto zoom lens that gives me a long reach, but in the summer I tend to rely on a 180mm macro lens or the 18-400mm zoom lens that I used for these shots. This lens gives me a good deal of versatility, allowing me to capture my close-in tiny subjects and some longer distance ones like these raptors in flight.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Spectacular, Mike! Yay!
Thanks. I never know what I am going to see when I go out with my camera and try to be ready at all times, so I can react quickly when opportunities like this present themselves.
Beautiful birds!
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Thanks, Mitzy. I love trying to photograph birds in flight, though it is definitely quite a challenge to do so.
Always great to see photos of birds in action – nicely done!